Former American Idol singer Caleb Flynn is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former Ohio music pastor who appeared briefly on “American Idol” was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after a jury convicted him last week of murdering his wife while he was having an affair.

The judge said Caleb Flynn, 40, used his Christian faith to manipulate others and showed no remorse for actions marked by “multiple levels of deception, manipulation and cruelty.”

With tears streaming down his cheeks, Flynn apologized to his family just before he was sentenced, starting with his two young daughters, who were at home when he shot his wife in her sleep. He called their birth “the greatest joy of this life.”

Although he said he accepted responsibility for his words and decisions, Flynn remained adamant about his innocence.

“As I stand here before God, who is my final judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife,” he said.

Prosecutors said Flynn staged a home invasion in February and claimed a burglar killed his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old teacher and volleyball coach. During his 2013 appearance on “American Idol,” Flynn credited his wife with encouraging him to pursue his dreams on the singing competition. He did not make it to the main competition in Hollywood.

During the trial, Flynn did not testify on his own behalf, or that of anyone else.

Family members, including Ashley’s parents, spoke Monday in favor of the harsh sentence, while saying they forgave Flynn because they did not want his legacy to be hatred.

His sister, Kayla Keyt, said Flynn’s actions scarred their entire church community, prompting children to run to their parents’ bedroom to make sure their father didn’t kill their mother.

As a family member read a statement written by his daughter Ava, Flynn sobbed uncontrollably as a pile of tissues grew on the defense table in front of him. At one point it looked like he might fall.

“Mom was the perfect person,” she said in her statement. “The absolutely perfect person. What did she do to you to make you hate her so much?” In her statement, his daughter Alyssa said she would not visit him in prison.

During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Flynn wanted to end his marriage when he shot his wife to death in their home in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. He sent a text message to his lover the day before the shooting, saying, “I choose you. I’m free. Action will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said.

During the trial, Alleigha Botner testified that she met Flynn in 2022 when she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and planned to kill her.

The gun used to kill Ashley Flynn was not found at the scene, and her attorney told jurors that investigators found no evidence that Caleb Flynn fired a gun that day. Prosecutors said his fingerprints and DNA were at the scene and their devices showed him moving around the house, although he claimed he was asleep at the time of the shooting.

The jury found him guilty of several counts, including murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.